Gibson, which makes Baldwin-branded pianos, will buy all shares in state-owned Dongbei Piano to boost capacity and market share, the Nashville, Tennessee-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday, without disclosing financial figures.

It already makes pianos in China at a factory in southern Guangdong Province, acquired in 2004.

Dongbei Piano, based in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, has a history of 50 years and can produce up to 40,000 pianos a year, according to the company's Website.

Musical education is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese youngsters as parents consider skills such as piano playing as a way to improve competitiveness.

Sales of Baldwin pianos in China have been rising 60 percent a year, Gibson said.

Rival Steinway Musical Instruments Inc, the maker of its namesake pianos, said China sales had been rising 15 percent annually in the past three years.

"We have always been optimistic on the Chinese market," Gibson President Dave Berryman said in the statement. "By acquiring Dongbei Piano, we can offer more types of piano products in China."

Gibson, which entered China in 2002, produces up to 150,000 guitars a year for export at a factory in eastern Qingdao city and in 2003 set up a unit in Shanghai to promote its brands in the world's fourth-biggest economy.

Gibson produced its first electric guitar in 1935. Innovative models developed in collaboration with guitarist Les Paul have remained popular to this day, according the company's Website.

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